Gemma Poke was named vice-captain while Lauren Spencer will take on the challenge of leading the 19-and-under team.

Players, coaches, sponsors and supporters celebrated the start of another season at their function at UTAS Stadium.

The opens team is heading into the opening weekend, setting high expectations to reflect the hard work that has been done off court.

First-year open player Hannah Lenthall will also be a part of the Tasmanian 19-and-under state team alongside clubmates Taylah Griffin, Gabbi Groves and Kendall Jones.

With little changes made to the opens lineup, the club hopes its depth will be an asset with the new rolling sub rule coming into play for the 2020 season.

The round-one opener in Hobart is set to be a spectacular showdown against AYC-Friends Arrows and one the club is looking forward to with great anticipation.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

The 19-and-under team is ready to take the court with a mix of talented and experienced players joining this year's core group that includes Griffin, Groves and Jones ahead of the under-age national netball championships next month.

Jones travels to Launceston from Burnie to train weekly with the team.

The club believes its 19-and-under players have the added bonus of learning from the best open players in the league, which is assisting with their on-court development.

Tasmanians Rachael Stebbings and Leah Turnbull have been named among the squad of umpires for the national championships.

Netball Tasmania congratulated the pair for making the list of 20, saying: "It will be great to have homegrown talent umpiring on court as we host all of the future netball stars right here in Hobart."

Both the 17-and-under and 19-and-under annual championships will be held from April 18-23 at the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre, with teams represented from each state and territory in each age group.

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